VOX Box: Heretic Saga 27
Characters * John Doe * Ra's al Ghul * Roy Westerman Location * Arkham Asylum Clinic's Dayroom, Gotham City, NJ * November 17th 2016, 0811 Local Time VOX Archive * Noise Filter: Overlapping Voices, Background Television Sounds, Overhead Ceiling Fan * John Doe: mumbling * Ra's al Ghul: footsteps Mind if we sit with you, friend? * John Doe: mumbling * Ra's al Ghul: clattter, prick, hypodermic plunger pressed * John Doe: hiss * Ra's al Ghul: Shh... That will counteract the sedative they gave you. * John Doe: Sedative? * Ra's al Ghul: Yes, don't be alarmed, friend... * John Doe: Wait... You're- * Ra's al Ghul: Yes, I know we both know who I am. I will also save you the trouble, I know who you are as well. * John Doe: scoff You don't know- * Ra's al Ghul: You are Richard Grayson. Son of John and Mary. Orphaned by violence. Adopted by Bruce Wayne. chuckle As I said, I know who you are... but the fortunate thing is that our captors do not. Not yet. * John Doe: Wait... What? * Ra's al Ghul: Andrea Beaumont brought you in here last night as an unidentified metacriminal. * John Doe: What? No... That... That wasn't the plan... * Ra's al Ghul: It may not have been your plan, but it was my plan. For now, you are not classified and they had given you a heavy sedative to keep you docile until you can be processed and classified. You will remain an unclassified patient until the intake officer and intake interviewer arrive to work layer this morning. We must act before you are processed. If you are processed, you will be identified as a mamber of the Blüdhaven Police and removed from the facility until more thorough screenings can occur. * John Doe: Yes, or I could simply just declare myself as such now and make one phone and get out of here. * Ra's al Ghul: You could do that... but you won't. * John Doe: Why won't I? * Ra's al Ghul: Because Barbara Gordon means too much to you. * John Doe: What have you done to her? * Ra's al Ghul: I have not done anything, nor will I unless you agree toaid me in my endeavor. * John Doe: Why would I help you then? * Ra's al Ghul: I can save Barbara Gordon. * John Doe: Save her? Save her from what? * Ra's al Ghul: Everything. * John Doe: ... You're talking about her paralysis? * Ra's al Ghul: I am... and her cancer. * John Doe: Cancer? barbara doesn't have-... pause She has cancer? How do you know that? * Ra's al Ghul: In the interest of saving time, which we have so little to spare, let' say that I employ operatives to keep an eye on my former protege and his ilk, these associates are not privy to my true identity or even part of my Leviathan network. These are independents I use, not to target or victimize the Detective or his loved ones, but to be certain my own associates do not violate my explicit orders. * John Doe: No... I don't buy it. Not even you have such connections. There's no way- * Ra's al Ghul: If you do not believe me, young Grayson, feel free to stand up now and do what you must to leave. * John Doe: Why me? Why conspire with Andrea Beaumont to bring me here? * Ra's al Ghul: You're the one in hcarge, are you not? With the Detective out of commission, you're the new Batman. Yes, your younger brother might be the one in the cowl, but you're the next in line, are you not? * John Doe: Perhaps that's the reason, but could it not also be that you have given all of my brothers and my sister very good reasons to hate you... whereas, I might have the more open mind and stronger connection to Barbara to exploit? * Ra's al Ghul: chuckle You really are the son of Bruce Wayne, even if his blood is not in your veins. * John Doe: What are you offering? * Ra's al Ghul: Use of a Lazarus Pit. It's nearby. Hidden, but unguarded. No need to bring Miss Gordon to one of our facilities where you'd be risking capture or worse. No extreme travel requirement. You would not even need to tell her it was a Lazarus Pit. You could say it was an off-the-maps hot springs you heard about. * John Doe: sigh And what is it you're asking me to do? * Ra's al Ghul: Help me escape. * John Doe: Why would I possibly do that? * Ra's al Ghul: To save the world. * John Doe: scoff I don't think so. You're Ra's al Ghul. You don't save lives. You take them. * Ra's al Ghul: I sacrifice some lives so others may prosper. * John Doe: Exactly and who made you the decider of people's fate? * Ra's al Ghul: I did, and that's why I can guarantee the Safinat Dakhma does not fall into civil war. * John Doe: That doesn't sound too bad to me. * Ra's al Ghul: On the surface I can see the appeal. I am in an unsavory business. I may be ruthless, but I am a man of honor and conviction. My daughters are not. Why do you think I've searched so long for a suitable male heir to assume control of my dunasty and let me cease to cling to life? My daughters were raised inside the Leviathan. They know best how to take a life, but never really truly knew what the value of a life was. If left to Talia or Nyssa to fight over, the Leviathan may destroy itself but if one assumes control with a decisive victory or they reach some sort of unifying compromise, there will be death and destruction on a scale beyond measure. I promise you that, young Grayson. If you choose to leave me in here any longer, you should do us both a favor and dedicate yourself to destroying that which I have built before my daughters unite against you as a common enemy. * John Doe: Okay, so if I help you escape, you rein your daughters in and I heal Barbara. Then what? We're even? * Ra's al Ghul: If that is how you would choose to go forward. * John Doe: What's the alternative? * Ra's al Ghul: What would you consider a suitable relationship? * John Doe: You stay out of Gotham? * Ra's al Ghul: Gotham is a blight on the planet, but the world can tolerate a sigle blemish if it must. That could be arranged if that is what is required to secure your cooperation. * John Doe: What if I tell you to never kill again? * Ra's al Ghul: Personally? * John Doe: Personally or by your command or conspiracy. * Ra's al Ghul: That is not possible, I'm afraid. My League, like all structures, is built on a foundation. If I removed a cornerstone of that foundation, that which I have built would crumble. Its pieces would fall where they would and I would have little control as to what happens to the broken remains or what takes the place of my once impressive structure. * John Doe: Aren't you full of metaphors? sigh Why me? Why not just order one of your own assassins to rescue you? I know the capable operatives you have at your disposal. Certainly you have at least a dozen who could get you out of Arkham. * Ra's al Ghul: But none of them can guarantee that the Batman or the Justice League would not come after me. * John Doe: You've beaten both the Batman and Justice League before. Why not take that risk? * Ra's al Ghul: Because in defending my escape, there is a real possibility that someone on either side may be injured. Injuries tend to cause vendettas. There is a threat on the horizon that may require us to come to some sort of agreement, Grayson. If there were vendettas, tested egos and bad blood may pose a danger to any sort of already tenuous alliance between our two sides. * John Doe: A threat? What sort of threat? * Ra's al Ghul: The worst kind. * John Doe: You're a confirmed member of the Light. From where I'm sitting, you're the worst kind of threat. * Ra's al Ghul: If you fear the Light, then how do you feel about the darkness and the terrors it conceals? The darkness is coming, Grayson, but that is a matter we can speak of later. For now, I'm afraid, I will be needing your answer immediately as your intake interviewer just arrived. Are you in or are you out? * Roy Westerman: footsteps Ah, you're new. You must be my first patient this morning... flipping John Doe, is it? Trivia and Notes * Part of the Heretic Saga Storyline. * Story continues from VOX Box: Heretic Saga 26. * Story continues in VOX Box: Heretic Saga Epilogue. Links and References * VOX Box: Heretic Saga 27 Category:VOX Box Category:Dick Grayson/Appearances Category:Ra's al Ghul/Appearances Category:Roy Westerman/Appearances Category:Arkham Asylum/Appearances Category:Gotham City/Appearances Category:Heretic Saga Storyline